Rangers tally three power-play goals, shut out Blues
Kaapo Kakko of the Rangers celebrates his third-period goal against the Blues with teammate Jack Roslovic and Alex Wennberg at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
In their first game after Friday’s NHL trade deadline, the Rangers had two of their three acquisitions in the lineup Saturday night at Madison Square Garden against the St. Louis Blues.
And though neither of the new guys managed to score a goal, the Rangers put together a complete all-around performance. They collected three power-play goals in a 4-0 victory and got a 26-save performance from goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who earned his second shutout of the season in his 200th career game.
“You’re in the final stretch, 20 games left, and this is where you want to start doing things the right way,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “So I thought it was a good step for us with that, and you know, we put the new guys in place, and I thought it was a really good step.’’
Forwards Alex Wennberg and Jack Roslovic made their Rangers debuts. The third acquisition, defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, did not, as Zac Jones entered the lineup to replace the injured Jacob Trouba (lower body).
Wennberg earned his first point as a Ranger, picking up the secondary assist on Kaapo Kakko’s power-play goal in the third period. The Rangers also got power-play goals from Vincent Trocheck (playing in his 700th game) and Chris Kreider and an even-strength goal from Jimmy Vesey as they kicked off a stretch of six games in nine nights.
The Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers (41-18-4) remained four points ahead of the second-place Hurricanes.
The Rangers were outshot 14-11 in the first period but took a 2-0 lead. They allowed only six shots on goal in each of the second and third periods as they appeared to get stronger throughout the game.
“It seemed like they made an emphasis early to dump pucks in,’’ said defenseman Adam Fox, who had two assists. “It seemed, most rushes, they were getting it behind us, and I think once you are able to negate that a little and break out and figure it out a little more, I think it’s easier [to limit shots against]. But obviously, when you’re playing in the other end, it limits the shots against.’’
The Rangers outshot the Blues 39-26 in the game.
Roslovic, acquired Friday from Columbus for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2026, stepped into the right- wing spot on the Kreider-Mika Zibanejad line, which has been looking for the right third member all season. Wennberg centered a third line between left wing Will Cuylle and right wing Kakko.
“I thought they really played a pretty solid game,’’ Laviolette said. “It’s always a little bit more challenging, I think, jumping into something new, and new linemates, and [in the case of Roslovic] not even really a skate together. I thought that Roslovic did a really good job just bringing speed and [having] the puck on his stick and creating in the offensive zone. They looked dangerous to me.
“And I thought Wennberg’s line with Kaapo and Cools were really good as well. They were good defensively, generated chances.’’
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Trocheck at 5:51 of the first period. He redirected a shot/pass by Artemi Panarin (two assists) and the puck deflected off the stick of defenseman Colton Parayko and got behind Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (35 saves).
Vesey’s goal with 22.8 seconds remaining in the first period made it 2-0.
For a moment in the second period, it appeared as though rookie enforcer and cult hero Matt Rempe had scored to make it 3-0. The goal was overturned after a brief video review that showed the puck hit both goalposts but did not cross the goal line.
Kreider scored his 32nd goal at 6:23 of the third period, backhanding the puck in after Panarin’s shot caromed off the end boards. Kakko scored his eighth goal at 11:23.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
